AfriGeneas States Research Forum

[TX] Dallas Public Library Research

Just a note for researchers who find themselves in the Dallas, TX area. If you have the opportunity to go to the Dallas Central Library on Young St., GO!

They have oodles of microfilm from each state broken down by General then County. For instance, they had an extensive collection for Tennessee (almost more than on Texas!) on microfilm including: Compiled Service Records for Union Volunteers, ALL the Confederate Questionaires (which is much more complete than the book) plus a roll of Union Questionaires, the Confederate Veteran & Widow
Pension application series, Carter County Chancery Records (found out why my g-granddad and his first wife disappeared as a couple ) and Deed Books, delayed birth & marriage records for the counties, ahh, the list is too long to remember.

For the people in Rowan and Martin county, they had a pretty
decent collection of films for each family including the Martin County Deed Books and Will Books, birth records for Rowan as well as the will books as well as some rolls for the the Western Carolinian and the Yadkin & Catawba Journal.

Logistics. Parking is expensive but they have an underground garage which is $8.00 a day. Parking on the street is allowed up till 4 p.m. and after 6 p.m. but that is 25 cents for 15 minutes (1.00 / hr). Street front parking is free on Sundays. Microfilm copies are 25 cents / copy and the printers tend to pick up any darkness present in the film.

Take plenty of change although they do have a change machine which accepts up to $5.00 bills. Parking payment is
automated and will not take anything larger than a $10. Warning, it returns the change as all quarters (felt like I had hit a jackpot in a casino when I paid a $4.25 fee with a $10 bill ).

Homeless people abound in the area of the library so personally, I like the underground parking as I don't have to worry about being accosted for cigarettes, etc. Security is very good and the staff helpful. The seventh floor (most of the genealogy stuff is on the 8th floor) has historical records, telephone directories, and microfilm of old TX and other states' newspapers. There is a nice finding aid for the TX papers, an index of all names mentioned in the collection. For instance, I found one relative, W.J. HARDISON, sheriff of Martin county, who was endorsing some patent medicine in the late 1800s.

All in all, a worthy addition to any researcher's list of places to visit.